A Book of Pagan Prayer

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If your religious upbringing was like mine, I strongly advise starting with some good scripted prayers. They’re different from what you’ve heard so they’re less likely to trigger bad memories. They also require more concentration, which will help you focus on the deity or spirit to whom you’re praying. How would you talk to your grandmother or to a favorite uncle? What would you say if a social or political leader you admire came to visit you? The Gods are more than any of these things, and it is best to approach even familiar deities with reverence, but expressions of devotion and love are always appropriate. Not all pagan religions and traditions have the kind of spiritual authority that one would expect to preside over a funeral, but some do. High Priestess Another prayer practice that might appeal to you is the creation and use of prayer beads to count out chants, mantras, or affirmations, or to hold as a focal object during prayer. Paganism is rich with symbols that you can incorporate into your beads, from stones or beads for different elements or intentions to charms or pendants representing different deities or sacred objects. I have no patron God or Goddess. How do I reconcile this with prayer and developing a spiritual practice?

Pagan Prayer: Offerings of Praise, Gratitude, and Hope Pagan Prayer: Offerings of Praise, Gratitude, and Hope

Yule is a time to set aside animosity between yourself and people who would normally antagonize you. The Norse had a tradition that enemies who met under a bough of mistletoewere obligated to lay down their arms. Set aside your differences and think about that as you recite this prayer inspired by Norse legend and history. The Beltane season is a time to celebrate the fertility of the earth, whether you honor the masculine aspect of the gods, or the sacred feminine of the goddesses. This simply prayer offers a thanks to the archetype of the earth mother for her bounty and blessings:Beginning a prayer practice can be as simple as taking a few minutes when you wake each morning and before you sleep each night thanking the Gods for your life and health. It’s also an opportunity to bring to them your worries, your fears, and your insecurities. For those who have — or seek — a devotional deity, meaning a deity to whom one’s primary focus is fixed, these morning and evening prayers can be an opportunity to connect to the energy of that deity. This means shunning typical Western customs such as embalming (which slows the decomposition process and releases chemicals into the soil) and using coffins or containers that would take a long time to naturally break down. Instead, natural burials see bodies interred in simple shrouds or biodegradable caskets such as willow baskets.

Pagan and Wiccan Prayers for All Occasions - Learn Religions

Pagans pray too! I myself always feel a sense of relief once I have prayed. Of course, there are many many sorts of prayers. Here, I will list many by type or just general ones. Also, I encourage you to make up prayers of your own! They become much more personal once you have come up with them on your own. If you’re speaking to your Gods on behalf of a gathering, make your prayer as good as you can get it. Remember that the world runs on reciprocity. If a God grants your request, They may later ask you for something in return – that’s how my relationship with the Morrigan began.

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On days you feel you need an extra boost of comfort or confidence, call a pagan friend. There’s nothing like talking to someone of like-mind and kindred spirit. 30. Ground and Center Chief of the gods, lord of truth; father of the gods, maker of men and beasts and herbs; maker of all things above and below; The main thing is to simply start praying on a regular basis. In addition to the ordinary benefits of prayer, the more you pray the less weird prayer will seem to you.

Pagan prayers for a modern world

Whether you keep an elaborate garden or just have a few plants and trees in your yard, take some time in the early morning or the evening to pay the garden a visit. You never know what wisdom the plants, trees, and wildlife have to share with you. I find garden visits comforting, peaceful, and enlightening. 20. Exercise Wiccans believe in a limbo of sorts, a neutral oasis of peace known as the Summerland where one goes to contemplate your life before being born again. Valhalla and Folkvangr If you’re going to use a prayer over and over again, or if you’re going to use it in a public ritual, it makes good sense to write it carefully. Make sure it says exactly what you want it to say. Make sure it flows and that it’s grammatically correct. Or if it’s not, that you’re breaking grammar rules on purpose and not from ignorance or carelessness. Make sure it doesn’t mindlessly copy the language or format of the prayers of another religion.

In many Pagan traditions, both contemporary and ancient, the old gods are honored at the time of the winter solstice. Take a moment to pay them tribute, and call upon them during the Yule season. General Prayer Themes Sermons Basic Christianity Bible Studies & eBooks Articles Christian Quotes Monthly Musings Useful Links About Cernunnos is a horned god found in Celtic mythology. He is connected with male animals, particularly the stag in rut, and this has led him to be associated with fertility and vegetation. Depictions of Cernunnos are found in many parts of the British Isles and western Europe. He is often portrayed with a beard and wild, shaggy hair–he is, after all, the lord of the forest: